ALBUQUERQUE – Joseph Dubois, 37, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty last week in federal court to evading federal taxes evasion and fraudulently presenting a fictitious surety bond. The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Ismael Nevarez Jr. of the Phoenix Field Office of IRS Criminal Investigation, and Special Agent in Charge David A. House of the Department of the Interior, Office of Inspector General.
Dubois, the owner and operator of Regency Development Group (RDG), a construction contractor located in Albuquerque, was charged by felony information with tax evasion and presenting a fictitious surety bond. According to the information, Dubois evaded his federal corporate tax obligations from Nov. 2011 to Oct. 2013, by opening and concealing a new bank account to circumvent tax liens, removing and dissipating assets to avoid their seizure, and by underreporting income and gross receipts. The information also alleged that Dubois created a materially false document, a surety bond, and fraudulently presented it as an actual security and financial instrument under the authority of a surety company.
On Feb. 8, 2017, Dubois pled guilty to the two charges in the information. In entering the guilty plea, Dubois admitted that as owner and operator of RDG, he evaded payment of $237,251 in federal employment taxes for tax years 2010 through 2012. Specifically, Dubois admitted that from Nov. 2011 through Oct. 2013, he opened a bank account which he used to divert funds in an attempt to circumvent liens and levies, and to evade payment of his tax liabilities. Dubois also acknowledged underreporting income and gross receipts to the IRS.
According to Dubois’s plea agreement, in Dec. 2011, RDG entered into contracts with the Ramah Navajo School Board to renovate a building at the Pine Hill School. The contracts required RDG to obtain and provide a surety bond. On Feb. 10, 2012, Dubois produced a materially false and fictitious surety bond which appeared to be an actual security under the authority of the Western Surety Company.
At sentencing, Dubois faces a statutory maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of IRS Criminal Investigation and Department of the Interior, Office of Inspector General, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Pena.